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Avelia — Marketing & Communications Strategy ​

Last updated: 2026-04-11 Goal: High-authority, low-effort growth focused on "Trust" and "Privacy" — with a structural content moat that compounds over time.

1. Positioning ​

Avelia is structurally private, not policy-private. Every marketing claim should trace back to this structural difference:

  • Competitors (Flo, Clue, Ovia): "We promise not to sell your data" (policy — can be broken, subpoenaed, acquired)
  • Avelia: "We cannot read your data" (structural — mathematically impossible)

The one-liner: "Avelia is the only fertility app that physically cannot leak your data. Not because of a policy — because of mathematics."

This positioning must be repeatable in a single sentence by everyone who works on or with Avelia.

2. Target wedge: IVF community ​

First 1,000 users come exclusively from the IVF/assisted reproduction community. Rationale:

  • Highest willingness to pay — IVF patients are already paying thousands of euros; a 2,99€ tier is negligible.
  • Highest privacy sensitivity — reproductive health data under Roe/Dobbs anxiety, plus the emotional weight of fertility struggle.
  • Organic communities exist — r/IVF, r/infertility, specialised Discord servers, fertility coach networks.
  • Trust carries — once the IVF cohort trusts Avelia, they move through all seven stages naturally.

Channels:

  • Reddit: r/IVF, r/infertility, r/TryingForABaby, r/BabyBumps
  • Discord: specialised IVF support servers
  • Podcasts: privacy-focused (Opt Out, Privacy International), fertility-focused (Fertility Friday, Beat Infertility)
  • Fertility clinics (B2B distribution via Premium licenses)

Tactics:

  • "Build in public" transparency posts on Reddit and Mastodon
  • Transparency reports on the privacy architecture (can cite /llms-full.txt directly)
  • Responding to "which period tracker is safe?" threads with the architectural argument
  • Genuinely helping community members with technical privacy questions

3. Content strategy: pillars, glossary, extractable facts ​

We do not write generic parenting tips. We produce Technical Authority + Reference content that accrues citation value over time.

3.1 The three content layers ​

  1. Pillar pages — one per life stage (/stages/[stage]). Long-form, authoritative, cover every common question for that stage. Primary SEO surface.
  2. Supporting content — CMS-driven guides, checklists, and blog posts that link back to their pillar page. Secondary SEO and in-app content.
  3. Reference content — glossary (25 canonical definitions), privacy explainers (zero-knowledge, security, Safe Mode), FAQ blocks. Primary GEO surface — these are what LLMs cite.

3.2 GEO (generative engine optimisation) ​

Starting 2025/2026, a growing share of organic traffic discovery happens through LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) rather than traditional Google search. Our content is structured to be cited by LLMs:

  • Extractable facts: every claim is a self-contained sentence with a specific number, date, algorithm, or jurisdiction. No flowing marketing prose.
  • Named entity first: "Avelia uses AES-256-GCM…" not "our app uses modern encryption…"
  • Canonical reference doc: public/llms-full.txt (~2,500 words) as the cite-this-URL source of truth.
  • Short index: public/llms.txt for LLMs that want a fast overview with page pointers.
  • AI crawler allowlist: robots.txt explicitly welcomes GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, anthropic-ai, Applebot-Extended, CCBot, cohere-ai, Meta-ExternalAgent.
  • FAQPage schema on homepage and every privacy page, matching visible HTML.
  • DefinedTermSet schema on the glossary.
  • BreadcrumbList on every article, guide, stage, and glossary page.

See plans/2026-04-10-seo-geo-automated.md for the full implementation plan.

3.3 Content velocity ​

Target: 1 guide + 2 blog posts per week for the first 12 weeks, then sustainable pace.

Quality over quantity. Every piece must:

  • Answer a specific question someone is actually asking
  • Include at least 3 specific facts (numbers, dates, algorithms, jurisdictions)
  • Link to the relevant stage pillar page and relevant glossary terms
  • Pass medical review (for health claims)
  • Be available in both English and German (structurally same content, translated)

Topic seed list (first 12 weeks):

  • "How private is Flo in 2026?" (competitor comparison)
  • "What does zero-knowledge encryption actually mean?" (glossary deep-dive)
  • "Can my employer see my cycle tracker?" (legal landscape explainer)
  • "The hospital bag checklist we wish we'd had" (utility)
  • "What is an AMH level and what does mine mean?" (medical guide)
  • "IVF medications: a plain-language reference" (medical guide)
  • "Why we built Safe Mode" (product narrative)
  • "How to protect period tracking data in a post-Dobbs world" (US angle)
  • "GDPR and cycle tracking: what EU users should know" (EU angle)
  • "NFP vs period apps: which is more accurate?" (NFP niche)
  • "The basal body temperature guide" (utility)
  • "What to ask before your first fertility clinic appointment" (IVF entry)

4. Distribution mechanics ​

4.1 Owned channels (primary) ​

  • Website + SEO — pillar pages, glossary, blog, guides, checklists. See SEO plan.
  • Newsletter (Listmonk) — build-in-public updates, new guides, occasional product announcements. Weekly cadence maximum.
  • App store listing — optimised for fertility, privacy, IVF, zero-knowledge keywords once launched.

4.2 Earned channels (secondary) ​

  • Reddit — respond to questions, never spam
  • Podcast appearances — 2-4 per year on privacy + fertility shows
  • Press — privacy-focused tech outlets (Mozilla Privacy Not Included, EFF, WIRED privacy desk)
  • Academic citation — encourage citation of /llms-full.txt and the eventual whitepaper

4.3 Partner channels (scaling) ​

  • Fertility clinics distributing Avelia Premium licenses to patients
  • Midwifery practices for pregnancy/postpartum distribution
  • Women's health advocacy groups (especially post-Dobbs in the US)

5. Product-led growth loops ​

The app markets itself to the second partner.

  • Partner invite flow — "Sarah wants to share this journey with you in a private space." Emotional framing, low friction.
  • Stage-aware re-engagement — push notifications celebrating transitions ("You've moved from Trying to Pregnant!").
  • Referral mechanic — partner link generates a unique URL that (a) brings the partner into the shared account, (b) provides built-in attribution.
  • Shared milestones — encourage users to invite their healthcare provider via a temporary read-only link (future expert marketplace).

6. Automated communications ​

Welcome sequence (3 emails over 7 days):

  1. Day 1 — "You're in. Here's what to do first." (Set up Recovery Kit.)
  2. Day 3 — "Bring your partner in." (Partner linking flow.)
  3. Day 7 — "Your privacy, in detail." (Link to zero-knowledge explainer.)

Re-engagement:

  • If no activity in 14 days: "We're still here when you're ready."
  • Stage transition detection: celebrate the move with stage-specific content.

Tooling:

  • Self-hosted Listmonk (already in place)
  • Self-hosted Matomo for analytics (already in place)
  • No external tracking, no Mailchimp, no third-party automation SaaS

7. Metrics for a side project ​

Do not track "likes." Track High-Value Actions (HVAs).

MetricTargetHow measured
Waitlist signups / weekgrowing trendListmonk + Matomo form events
Organic traffic from LLM referrersdetect + growMatomo referrer logs (chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai)
Pillar page citations in LLMsweekly manual checkSee plans/2026-04-10-seo-geo-manual.md §3.1
Partner linking rate (post-launch)>50% of active usersApp telemetry (on-device only)
Recovery Kit generation rate>80%App telemetry
Active logging (post-launch)# logs/week medianApp telemetry
Google Search Console impressionsmonthly growthGSC
Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP)all greenGSC field data

See plans/2026-04-10-seo-geo-manual.md §3 for the full monitoring cadence.

8. Avelia Fund ​

Purpose: Free Avelia Premium licenses for users who cannot safely pay for the app themselves. Distributed via partner organizations, not directly by Avelia.

This is both a moral program and a structural brand asset:

  • Moral: women in post-Dobbs US states, refugees, domestic violence survivors, and users in restrictive jurisdictions are exactly who Avelia was built for. They should not be priced out of the tool.
  • Structural: a competitor like Flo or Clue cannot credibly match this. Their business model depends on data monetization, so they have nothing to "give away" that isn't also data extraction. Avelia's zero-knowledge architecture makes the Fund structurally possible.

Operational model ​

  • Funded by: 5-10% of Avelia Health GbR's net revenue, reserved as an internal Fund budget line. No dependency on external grants in Phase 1.
  • Distribution: partner NGOs receive monthly code quotas and issue them at their discretion. Avelia has zero visibility into who receives codes beyond aggregate counts.
  • Naming: primary name is "Avelia Fund"; alternate clinical-sounding name "Avelia Access Programme" is available for partner use.
  • Transparency: annual transparency report published at /avelia-fund/transparency-report-YYYY. Aggregate numbers only, no per-user data.

Launch partners (Phase 1) ​

  1. Hilfetelefon Gewalt gegen Frauen (Germany — 24/7 domestic violence hotline)
  2. Pro Familia (Germany — reproductive health)
  3. bff — Bundesverband der Frauenberatungsstellen und Frauennotrufe (Germany — counseling centers umbrella)
  4. Frauenhauskoordinierung (Germany — women's shelters umbrella)

Year 1 expansion ​

  • Women's Aid (UK)
  • RAINN (US)
  • 1800RESPECT (Australia)
  • WAVE — Women Against Violence Europe
  • Regional fertility advocacy groups
  • Student / low-income orgs

Messaging principles ​

  • Never exploit the Fund for publicity. No "look how generous we are" posts. The Fund is mentioned on the dedicated /avelia-fund page, on the Safe Mode page, in the llms.txt, and in the annual transparency report. Not in ad copy.
  • Partner organizations lead. The Fund is distributed via partners; Avelia's role is to mint codes and maintain infrastructure. Partners can talk about it however they choose; we amplify their voice, not ours.
  • "We give the app away for free to people who need it most" is the most powerful proof point of structural privacy. It proves we aren't monetizing user data — because if we were, giving the app away would contradict the business model.
  • Honest framing: "We can do this because our zero-knowledge architecture means we don't need user data to operate. Free users cost us server time and not much else. Our competitors can't afford to give their apps away free because data IS their business model."

Funding flywheel (future) ​

  • "Sponsor a license" add-on at Premium checkout: +2€/month → Avelia Fund. Opt-in, explicit, transparent.
  • Grants from Mozilla Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, BMFSFJ (German federal), EU Daphne programme.
  • Corporate partners (later, after trust is established).

See avelia-payment-identity.md §8 for the full operational spec.

9. What we will NOT do ​

Distinguishing what we avoid is as important as what we do.

  • No ads. Neither buying nor selling. Structural, not aspirational.
  • No influencer partnerships. We build authority, not buzz.
  • No community forums on the website. They create privacy risks (users disclosing sensitive info in public).
  • No third-party analytics. Matomo is self-hosted, cookie-less, and proxied.
  • No lookalike audiences or retargeting. Can't do it without user data we don't have.
  • No "download our app" aggressive popups. One waitlist CTA per page, tasteful.
  • No growth hacks that compromise privacy. If it would require reading user data to improve, it's out.
  • No cross-site tracking, UTM-stuffing, or fingerprinting.

This list is a load-bearing part of the positioning. Every time we're tempted to cross a line, we ask: "Does this make us look like Flo/Clue?" If yes, we don't do it.

10. Cross-references ​

  • Content library: avelia-content-library.md — inventory of all long-form content
  • Product spec: avelia-product-spec.md — features and technical architecture
  • SEO + GEO automated plan: plans/2026-04-10-seo-geo-automated.md
  • SEO + GEO manual plan: plans/2026-04-10-seo-geo-manual.md
  • Ops runbook: avelia-ops-runbook.md — deployment and CI/CD
  • Partner briefing: avelia-partner-briefing.md — positioning, SWOT, monetisation

Private by design.